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Rusty Redenbacher

As part of the Indianapolis based group, The Mudkids, Rusty Redenbacher released four albums, notably their latest release, We Are Dynamic and People Like Us. What connected audiences to The Mudkids was the way they blended hip-hop, jazz and rock elements together. Stepping out of that group atmosphere for a little bit, emcee Rusty Redenbacher releases his latest installment, The Tinkerer.

With this project, Redenbacher blends together old school hip-hop with rock and explores pretty much anything that comes to his mind, jumping between rapping, producing and DJing and drawing from influence as diverse as Full Metal Jacket and Fleetwood Mac, just to name a few.

The album opens with the title track, ‘The Tinker.” The track includes headnodding production and shines light on what people can expect from the album—an eclectic blend of a little bit of everything. The production on “The Funk” is exactly what the song alludes to – funny and it places listeners into a old school hip-hop mindset. This formula is also put to work on songs like “Add On Pt. 1” and “Fran Ken Steen,” which also incorporates a rockish vibe to the tracks. The production on the album changes around track 11, “The Nocturnal Stomp (Third Shift Anthem),” and turns a little mellower.

Overall, this is an interesting project that listeners will either love or find to be odd and obscure. The production on The Tinkerer should be commended, the seamless fusion of rock and hip-hop influences is a cool element.